>>Valley Patriot>>
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(02/06/07)
Licciardello Lashes Out...
Respectfully
NORTH ANDOVER - At a recent
meeting of the Board of Selectmen, where the towns
capital improvement plan was being discussed, tax and
spend school advocate Cindy Jalbert stood
before the board whining about how the town needs a Prop.
2 1/2 Override and how her Committee on Capital Planning
was not being included in the process of the capital
improvement plan.
Selectman Tom Licciardello, so frustrated with
Jalberts nonsensical rhetoric, took a few minutes
to address the misinformation she was giving the public.
It is amazing how many obstructions people will
throw in front of an attempt to make forward
progress, Licciardello said. To have a
plan brought forward, to have it open for discussion,
does not mean a final decision was made
. So, I
have to say Cindy, I get a little frustrated when I hear
people immediately begin to throw up roadblocks, because,
well, you didnt talk to me personally about
this.
Jalbert continued to whine, cutting off the selectman.
We want to be in on the ground floor before you do
anything with your buildings, she charged.
You dont think it would have been appropriate
to let the School Committee know you were presenting a
five year plan ... .
At that point Licciardello had had enough.
Look, Cindy, I have answered your question. I
really do not want to hear the questions asked again five
times. We have a busy agenda and I would like to move
forward.
Jalbert continued to insult and interrupt the meeting:
I find it funny to watch Tom Licciardello stand
there and say to the school department a few months ago
kill Foster Farm, the town will never go for
it, and then watch him two weeks ago say this
town will stand behind an override for the schools.
Well, Im sorry I find it a little contradictory to
watch you do that, Tom!
Let me explain this one last time, a
respectful but obviously flustered Selectman Licciardello
responded. My position has not changed on that one
bit, and let me explain it loud and clear. A plan that
the citizens of this town wont support based upon
projections that are inaccurate is very different from a
well-thought-out plan based on good solid planning and
supported by all of the boards. Thats the kind of
thing I think the people in this town have been crying
for. Show us a good, well-thought-out plan and we will
support it. But, I am so glad you raised this issue
because one of the things I have been getting frustrated
about is that some people think the people of North
Andover dont care about our children because we
dont spend enough in our school department. I would
like to - at long last - have that notion
dispelled.
I keep hearing how we dont spend at the state
average (for schools). I asked the town manager to do a
little work on that and what we found, in fact, was that
there are a few different pieces to look at when you fund
education. One of the pieces is the foundation budget,
that is, what the town spends from the tax dollars it
raises. That means net of Chapter 70 (what the state
gives us), our spending in North Andover, minus Chapter
70, is $7,468 (per pupil). The state average is $6,018;
thats 24% higher than the state average.
The difficulty is that the Chapter 70 money we
receive from the state is significantly lower. So if
anyone here would like to yell at people who are not
spending enough money on the children, dont do it
to the good folks in North Andover who are spending 24%
more, whose family tax rate is 44.7% higher than the
state average. Call your repre-sentatives at The State
House and say, wheres the money?
Wheres the money for those programs that you
have demanded that we have? Wheres the money for
the special needs programs you demanded we have?
Wheres the money for the transportation programs
you say we must have? Why wont you let us join the
GIC health insurance program? Why do we have to have the
prevailing wage program that makes us spend 300% more to
fix a roof on one of our schools than if we had an
average contractor come in and do? Those are the people
you ought to be yelling at! I am quite frustrated at
hearing how the people of North Andover dont care
about their kids. Its not the truth. And I will
submit to you that I believe if we do our planning
correctly, if we show the people of this town that we can
manage in a fiscally responsible way, and we can plan so
we are doing the right thing for the town, absolutely
they will support an override. I have people coming up to
me every day from both sides of the political spectrum
saying to me, prove to me your doing the right job
and I will pull out my check book any day.
We have a perception problem we have to fix, and
one of the ways to do that is to stop telling people what
a terrible job we are doing. Were not doing a
terrible job in our schools and we are not doing a
terrible job on the municipal side.
Editors note: AMEN
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The February 2007
Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
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All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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